The man behind the world famous 50ft Crabzilla spotted lurking beneath the waters in Whitstable last year has taken a sideways swipe at a “wimpy” pretender from Portsmouth.

Quinton Winter, of Station Road, told KentOnline that a giant brown crab found this week in the English Channel is “just a pimple” compared to the discovery in Whitstable last July.

Aerial images of the shadowy Crabzilla figure emerged on the artist’s Weird Whitstable bizarre blog before the story went viral on worldwide news outlets.

But Mr Winter says this new discovery – found by fishermen deep off Portsmouth – can’t compete with Whitstable’s very own.

He said: “That sounds like a little wimpy one compared to Whitstable.

“He’s a lot smaller than Crabzilla and they have seemed to make a big thing about him being able to crush a man’s wrist but Crabzilla can crush a man’s car!

“He’s like one of Crabzilla’s babies who has got lost around the coast and he is trying to make his way back to Whitstable.”

The crab found of the south coast has been nicknamed Popeye and weighs more than 9lbs, with a body measuring 30cm wide.

It is now set to be a display feature at Southsea’s Blue Reef Aquarium after it was donated by the fisherman who caught it.

It is the most common crab found in waters off the UK.

Mr Winter added: “Being 30cm across, that’s a pimple on Whitstable’s one!

"Being 30cm across, that’s a pimple on Whitstable’s one!" - Quinton Winter

“I’m waiting for the day when one of the fishing boats in the Harbour brings Crabzilla back.”

Last year’s Crabzilla sighting left many people convinced of a larger crustacean in our waters but others said it was a hoax.

Mr Winter added: “There have been no more sightings of Crabzilla since then (last year) and I am hoping she will come out of hiding again.

“Maybe she will make an appearance but I haven’t heard anything – no one has said anything.”